Manufacture of slide fastener wire



June 30, 1953 v 5HEUERMAN 2,643,559

MANUFACTURE OF SLIDE FASTENER WIRE Filed Aug. 14, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR.

VALENTINE u BY 2 A'rioeuzvs MANUFACTURE OF SLIDE FASTENEIR WIRE J1me 1953 v. SCHEUERMAN MANUFACTURE OF SLIDE FASTENER WIRE Filed Aug. 14, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. l5

FIE. I3

INVENTOR.

VALENTINg SCHEUERMAN ATTORNEYS FIE. l4-

Patented June 30, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANUFACTURE OF SLIDE FASTENER WIRE Valentine Schcuerman, Union, N. J assignor to Conmar Products Corporation, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 14, 1947, Serial No. 768,620

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to the manufacture of slide fasteners, and more particularly to the manufacture of a wire comprising a series of embryo slide fastener elements.

Ulrich Patent No. 2,221,740, issued November 12, 1940, discloses a wire having closely spaced interlocking means at the top and bottom, and closely spaced notches or serrations at the side edges, the serrations corresponding to the outer ends of spread jaws. Such a strip provides metal for a series of slide fastener elements with the embryo head of one element nested within and filling the space between the embryo spread jaws of the next element, so that the elements may be formed from the strip without substantial waste or scrap metal. This wire is preferably formed at high speed by rolling operations. It has heretofore been thought that such a wire must be rolled in a single passage through a single pair of rolls, and because of problems of elongation oi": the wire, it has been the practice to use small-diameter die rolls which, however, were carried in massive shafts and bearings so that adequate pressure could be exerted on the wire. This in turn required the use of overhung rolls.

In accordance with one feature and object of the present invention, the slide fastener wire may be formed by successive rolling operations. A major part of the work on the wire may be performed by smooth rolls which deform a round wire into a wire having a ridge on one side and a groove on the other. Because the wire is a smooth, continuous wire, no question of pitch or registration between elements in successive rolling operations arises. The smooth wire may later be run between coining rolls which deform the ridge into a series of projections and deform the groove into a series of recesses, and at the same time provide the desired serrated edges.

The slide fastener wire heretofore produced in a single rolling operation was characterized by a thin web of metal or fin remaining in the notches at the side edges. This fin may be cut away in the machine which attaches the elements to a tape, and apparatus for that purpose is disclosed in Ulrich Patents 2,338,884, issued January 11, 1944;, and 2,370,380, issued February 27, 1945. It has also been suggested that the fin be cut away by means of a special rolling operation, and such arrangement is disclosed in Ulrich Patent 2,279,768, granted April 14, 1942; or that the fin be crushed by means of a special rolling operation, as disclosed in \Vintriss Patent 2,335,626, issued November 30, 1943. It has also been proposed to roll a wire in a single rolling operation without a fin, this being described in Ulrich Patent 2,330,936, granted October 5, 1943.

However, none of the foregoing suggestions has proved altogether satisfactory in practice. There are disadvantages and complications attendant upon any of these solutions so far produced, and a primary object of the present invention is to overcome such difficulties, and to provide a satisfactory method and apparatus for rolling finless slide fastener wire.

I have found that if a groove to receive the entire body of wire is formed wholly in one roll, instead of equally in a pair of rolls, with the sides of the groove converging toward the axis of the roll so that the split-line between the rolls is at the widest part of the groove, and that if the metal is rolled into a groove without wholly filling the groove, there will be no overflow or fin formed at the split-line. Instead, the wire will be left somewhat unfinished at one face, the serrations being better and more completely defined at the opposite face corresponding to the bottom of the groove. I have further found that if the wire is then run through a second pair of rolls also having a groove in one roll to receive the entire body of the wire, but with said groove in the other one of the pair of rolls, and again with sides converging toward the axis of the roll with the split-line between the rolls at the wide part of the groove, the serrations will be properly formed at the opp site side of the wire.

I have further found that it is possible to maintain registration in two successive pairs of rolls, this being most readily accomplished by making the second pair an idle pair, and giving it a minimum of work to do on the wire, substantially all of the coining work being performed in the first or power-drivcn rolls.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the rolling mill elements and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a finished strip made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows the same in elevation;

Fig. 3 is an elevation schematically showing a rolling mill which may be used with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a partially sectioned fragmentary View of a pair of rolls used for a first rolling opera- 3 tion, the section being taken in the plane of the lines 4-4 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation of the rolls;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section taken on the axes of the rolls, and showing the rolled wire therebetween;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of a pair of coining rolls for the second rolling operation;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section taken in the plane of the axes of the rolls, and showing the wire therebetween;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view ofthe. upper roll;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view of the lower roll;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary section taken in the plane of the axes of the third pair of rolls, with the formed wire therein;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary plan view of the upper roll;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary plan view of the lower roll;

Fig. 14 is an elevation of a second rolling mill which performs the second and third rolling operations; and v Fig. 15 schematically represents an annealing furnace for annealing the wire.

Referring to the drawing, the slide fastener wire is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It comprises a wire [2 having spaced projections and recesses for interlocking of the slide fastener elements. In the present case there are projections l4 along one face of the wire, and recesses 16 along the opposite face of the wire. Moreover, the side edges of the strip are serrated or notched as indicated at [8. The manner in which slide fastener elements are cut from the wire is indicated by the broken lines 20. The head 22' of one element is received between the spread jaws 24 of the next element. The jaws are so shaped that when clamped about the beaded edge of a tape, the side walls 26 come into parallel relation and form a continuation of the side walls of the head 22. The end walls 28 are substantially perpendicular to the side walls 26 and come into a common plane perpendicular to the plane of the tape when the jaws are closed.

Considered in one aspect, the invention lessens the work performed by and the load placed on the coining rolls, by preliminarily rolling a round wire in smooth rolls to give the wire a profile which is best adapted for the coining operation. This is shown in Figs. 3 through 6, in accordance with which a round wire 30 is rolled between smooth rolls 32 and 34 to produce a smooth wire having the section indicated at 36 in Figs. 4 and 6. This is characterized mainly by a ridge 38 at the top and a groove 40 at the bottom.

The wire is then run through coining rolls shown at 42 and 44 in Figs. '7 through 10. The top roll 42 has recesses 46 which deform the ridge 38 into a series of spaced projections (the projections 14 in Figs. 1 and 2), while the bottom roll 44 has a series of projections 48 which deform the groove at the bottom of the wire into a series of spaced recesses (the recesses 16 in Fig. 2). In Fig. 8, it will be noted that the original ridge 38 at the top of the wire is substantially higher than the desired projections l4. Thus the metal is caused to flow downwardly,

and it is this which presses the metal about the projections 48 of the bottom roll. Moreover, there is a flow of metal outwardly or sidewardly to form the desired serrated edges on the wire.

Considered in another aspect, an. important of these stages, the split-line 50 (Fig. 8) between the rolls, is located on one side of the wire l2, and in the other stage, the split-line 52 (Fig. 11) is located at the opposite side of the wire I 2. In other words, in each case the body ofthe wire is received in a groove in one only of the two rolls forming a pair of rolls, but in one case the groove is located in the lower roll, and in the other case the groove is located in the upper roll. In each case the sides of the groove convergetoward the axis of the roll, the split-line being located at the widest part of the groove. In Fig. 8, the sides 54 converge downwardly, while in Fig. 11 the sides 56 converge upwardly. With this arrangement, the body of metal employed is somewhat less in cross-sectional area than is needed to wholly fill the groove, and yet it has been found that in each case the bottom of the groove and the adjacent portions of the sides are accurately shaped, for the flow of metal is toward the bottom of the groove, that is, away from the split-line. Thus in Fig. 8, a space may be left unfilled by metal at the corners 58. There is obviously no tendency toward the formation of a fin. Of course, the consequence is that while the desired serrations are nicely formed at the bottom face of the wire, they are only in completely and irregularly formed at the top face of the wire.

Now when the wire is run through the next pair of rolls shown in Fig. 11, the metal is urged upwardly toward the base of the groove, and the upper roll 60 serves to complete or finish the serrations at the top face of the wire. There is clearance, indicated at 64, at the bottom face of the wire, and consequently, no tendency toward the formation of a fin at the split-line52. lhe net result is that the desired serrations in the side edges of the wire are nicely formed and finished, without the production of a fin. Furthermore, since it is only a minimum of work that must be performed by the second pair of rolls, requiring no elongation of the wire or change in pitch between elements, it is feasible and practicable to run the formed wire through the second pair of coining rolls. I have found that it is desirable, however, not to run the second pair of rolls under power, and in Fig. 14, the first pair of coining rolls 42 and 44 is driven positively under power, while the second pair of coining rolls 60 and 62 run idly.

In preferred form, the complete invention involves all three rolling stages, that is, a preliminary rolling of a round wire to the profile shown in Fig. 5, in order to reduce the load on the coining rolls, followed by a coining operation, shown in Figs. '7 through 10, which in turn is followed by a finishing operation, shown in Figs. 11 through 13. In preferred form, these three operations are accomplished in two rolling mills, one being shown in Fig. 3, and the other being shown in Fig. 14.

The rolling mill may be of any conventional type, one example being that shown in Fig. 3, in Which the lower roll 34 is mounted in stationar bearings, and the upper roll 32 is mounted in movable bearing blocks I0. The rolling mill shown in Fig. 3 is substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 14, and inasmuch as Fig. 14 is drawn to a larger scale, reference may be made thereto for further description. The position of blocks it may be adjusted by means of screws 12 rotated by worm gear M driven by worms on a shaft "it turned by a hand-wheel 18.

Both rolls are geared to a countershaft 80 driven by the motor 82 and belt 84. The motor preferably includes built-in reduction gearing. Countershaft 80 has a pinion 86 meshing with a gear 83, which turns the lower roll 44. Countershaft til has a similar pinion meshing with an intermediate or idle pinion 943 at the opposite side of the rolling mill, said pinion 9!) meshing with a gear 92 which drives the upper roll 42. Thus the idle pinion 90 serves the dual function of compensating for the spacing between the rolls &2 and 44, and reversing the direction of one roll relative to the other.

Because the rolls are smooth rolls rather than coining rolls, they may be large enough in diameter to permit the use of substantial shafts which project on both sides of the roll so that the rolling mill may have bearings on both sides, instead of using small-diameter overhung rolls, such as shown in the prior patents previously referred to at the beginning of the specification.

Referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the upper roll 32 has a substantially trapezoidal groove 94, while the lower roll 34 has a relatively wide, shallow groove 96 with a ridge 93 therein. The cross sectional area of the round wire (Fig. 4) is so selected that it does not completely fill the space between the rolls 32 and 34. Thus, referring to Fig. 6, it will be seen that no fin is formed at the split-line Illil between the rolls,

and instead, the wire has a relatively rounded configuration at the split-line, and also at the corners at the bottom of the groove in the lower roll 34. The rolls 32 and 3d perform the initial and the main work of deformation of the round wire. These rolls are therefore subject to greatclear from inspection of Figs. '7, 8 and 9, the

upper roll 42 has a smooth cylindrical periphery devoid of any groove for the wire, but the periphery of the roll ,is provided with small, uniforrnly spaced recesses which mate with the desired projections It on the finished wire. The lower roll 44 has a groove 35 of substantial depth formed therein, the sides 54 of said groove sloping as shown in the drawing. This slope facilitates feed of the wire into and discharge of the wire from the roll, and thus prolongs the life of the roll. It also serves the purpose of avoiding the formation of fin at the split-line 50, because the split-line is at the widest part of the groove. The bottom of the groove has projections d8 spaced uniformly therearound, said projections being properly located and dimensioned to form the desired recesses at the bottom of the wire. Finally, the sides 54 of the groove are serrated, as is best shown in Fig. 10. The wire leaving this pair of rolls is substantially finished to proper dimension in respect to the. projections I4 at the top of .the wire and the recesses at the bottom of the wire, and the side edges at or near the bottom face of the wire.

The serrations are not fully formed at the top face of the wire, and this is intentional, in order to avoid the formation of fin at the splitline between the rolls. Generally speaking, the serrations are well formed at the bottom of the wire, and are well formed for at least half the thickness of the wire, above which they may be less well formed, for this portion of the wire will be finished in the third rolling operation to final configuration. In Fig. 8, it will be observed from comparison of the broken line 38 with the projection ll, that the displacement of metal is generally downward and away from the split-line 50 between the rolls.

Referring now to Figs. ll'through 13,the lower roll 62 is generally cylindrical in configuration, and has no peripheral groove. It has a series of spaced projections IID which mate with the recesses in the bottom of the wire. The upper roll 60 has a groove II2 which receives the body of the wire. There are recesses H4 in the groove, said recesses mating with the projections on the top of the wire. The side walls 56 of the groove converge upwardly so that the split-line 52 is again located at the widest part of the groove. The top of the wire, which was of widest dimension and less finished in respect to the head serrations, is forced upwardly into the narrowest part of the groove, thereby finishing the serrations to desired shape. Ordinarily, it is the upper half of the thickness of the Wire that will be suitably shaped by the upper roll Bil. The finished wire will have side edges which are serrated, with a good finish and proper dimension at the top and bottom, the said side edges being very slightly convex when viewed in cross-section, because of the sloping sides of the grooves in the rolls which form the wire.

Because of the initial rolling operation de scribed in connection with Figs. 3 through 6, only part of the deformation and shaping of the wire need be performed by the coining rolls 42 and M. This increases the useful life of the said rolls. The final rolls 60 and 62 have very little forming to do, and therefore experience good wear.

Fig. 14 illustrates a tandem rolling mill and wind-up stand which may be used for the second and third rolling operations. The main rolling mill has already been described, and the upper and lower rolls are both driven in synchronism by the motor 82. The tandem mill is preferably an idle mill mounted on a table I26 projecting from the frame of the main rolling mill. The lower roll is mounted in fixed bearings, while the upper roll is mounted in movable bearing blocks the position of which is adjusted by means of screws I22. The wire leaving the tandem mill is wound up on a reel I24. This reel is driven by a motor I 26 with reduction gearing connected to reel I'M by means of belt I28. A two-way screw I30 is driven by means of a belt I32, and through the agency of a nut which reoiprocates back and forth on the screw, the wire is distributed evenly over the entire width of the reel.

It will be understood that the idle rolls 89 and 62 are rotated solely by means of the wire itself, which is pulled through the rolls.

Fig. 15 is a schematic representation of an annealing furnace. The furnace I34 may be of any conventional type, and is arranged for movement of a continuous wire I36 therethrough. If desired, the round wire may be annealed prior to the first rolling operation, but in general this should not prove necessary, and round wire may be brought in suitablecondition forthe first rolling operation. Annealing has proved useful between the first and second rolling operations. It has not proved necessary between the second and third rolling operations, and in fact, these may be combined in a single rolling mill, as shown in Fig. 14.

It is believed that the method of my invention, as well as the construction and operation of apparatus for practice of the same, will be apparent from the foregoing. detailed description. The advantages have already been set forth, it being possible to closely control the flow of metal during the entire rolling process. Some of the main displacement of metal is performed in the first operation with the aid of smooth and relatively inexpensive rolls. The more expensive rolls have less work to do, and are thus subject to less wear. Much of the elongation of the wire takes place in the first rolling operation, and the reduced elongationin the second rolling operation helps produce accurate, uniform pitch in the wire as it leaves the second pair of rolls.- This in turn makes it possible to add a third rolling operation.

The absence of fins on the finished wire leads to considerable simplification and improvement in the machine which severs the wire into individual elements and attaches the same successively to a tape. The customary air-blast required to remove the tiny fins of metal, may be eliminated. The absence of these small particles of metal simplifies the maintenance and increases the life of the attaching machine.

Of course, the main advantage of rolling the wire is retained, namely the possibility of high speed of manufacture. Thus, in the first operation the wir may be rolled at a speed of approxi mately 300 feet per minute, or more. The wire is preferably annealed between the first and second rolling operations, for the wire is hardened somewhat by the compression and working which takes place during the first rolling operation. The second rolling operation is preferably performed at a speed of approximately 150 feet per minute. The third rolling operation take place at substantially the same speed, there being little elongation in the second rolling operation, and substantially non in the third.

It will be understood that while I have described my invention in a preferred form, changes may be made in the method and apparatus disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention as sought .to be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In the manufacture of slide fastener wire having projections on one side, recesses on the other side, and serrated edges, the method of rolling said wire without fin or scrap in the serrations thereof, which includes preliminary rolling a round wire to give the wire a uniform cross-section with a profile having a ridge along one side and a groove along the other, thereupon again rolling the wire to deform the ridge into a series of spaced projections, and to deform the groove into a series of spaced recesses, and at the same time to form serrations along the side edges of the wire, the serrations being formed to their final dimension near one face only of the wire, and thereupon again rolling the wire to form serrations along the side edges of the wire, the ser- 8 rations being formed to their final dimension near the opposite face only of the wire.

2. In the manufacture of slide fastener wire having serrated edges, the method of rolling said wire without fin or scrap in the serrations thereof, which includes rolling a wire to form serrations along the side edges of the wire, the serrations being formed to their final dimension near one face only of the wire, and thereupon again rolling the wire to further form the same serrations along the side edges of the wire, the serrations being formed to their final dimension near the opposite face only of the wire.

3. In the manufacture of slide fastener wire having serrated edges, the method of rolling said wire without fin or scrap in the serrations thereof, which includes rolling a wire to form serrations along the side edges of the wire, the serrations being formed to their final dimension near one face only of the wire and the side walls diverging toward the opposite face of the wire, and thereupon again rolling the Wire to further form the same serrations alongthe same side edges of the wire, the serrations during this additional rolling operation being brought down to their final dimension near the opposite face only of the wire.

4. In the manufacture of slide fastener wire having serrated edges, the method of rolling said wire without fin or scrap in the serrations thereof, which includes rolling a wire to form serrations along the side edges of the Wire, the serrations being formed to their final dimension near one face only of the wire and the side walls diverging toward the opposite face of the wire, and thereupon again rolling the wire to further form the same serrations along the same side edges of the Wire, the serrations during this additional rolling operation being brought down to their final dimension near the opposite face only of the wire and the side walls diverging toward the opposite face of the wire to a point intermediate the two faces of the wire.

5. In the manufacture of slide fastener wire having projections on one side, recesses on the other side, and serrated edges, the method of rolling said wire without fin or scrap in the serrations thereof, which includes preliminarily rolling a round wire to give the wire a uniform crosssection with a profile having a ridge along one side and a groove along the other, thereupon again rolling the wire to deform the ridge into a series of spaced projections, and to deform the groove into a series of spaced recesses, and at the same time to form serrations along the side edges of the wire, the serrations being formed to their final dimension near one face only of the wire and the side walls diverging toward the opposite face of the wire, and thereupon again rolling the wire to further form the same serrations along the same side edges of the wire, the serrations during this additional rolling operation being brought down to their final dimension near the opposite face only of the wire and the side walls diverging toward the opposite face of the wire to a point intermediate the two faces of the wire.

6. In the manufacture of slide fastener wire having serrated edges, by rolling wire between die rolls, the method of rolling said wire without fin or scrap in the edge serrations thereof,

which includes confining one face and the full height side edges of the wire in one of a pair of impression rolls and forming the edge serrations to their final dimension near that face only of the wire by rolling the wire between said pair of impression rolls, and then confining the opposite face and the full height side edges of the wire in one of a pair of impression rolls and forming the said edge serrations to their final dimension near said opposite or second face only of the wire by rolling the wire between said pair of impression rolls.

7. In the manufacture of slide fastener wire having projections on one side, recesses on the other side, and serrated edges, by rolling a round wire between die rolls, the method of rolling said wire without fin or scrap in the edge serrations thereof, which includes preliminarily forming a round wire to give the wire a uniform cross-section with a profile having a ridge along one side and a groove along the other by confining the upper part of the Wire in one of a pair of smooth rolls and confining the lower part of the wire in the other of said pair of smooth rolls and rolling the wire therebetween, confining one face and the full height side edges of the wire in one of a pair of impression rolls and forming the edge serrations to their final dimension near that face only of the wire byrolling the wire between said pair of impression rolls, and then confining the opposite face and the full height side edges of the wire in one of a pair of impression rolls and forming the said edge serrations to their final dimension near said opposite or second face only of the wire by rolling the wire between said pair of impression rolls.

Ulrich Oct. 5, 

